What's That Sound?

Stu Watts chats with Will Conway, who is an Australian producer, session musician, and musical director with a steadily growing run of releases across pop, indie, and alternative music.In 2025, his production work included releases for Hassall, Sophie Kelly, Jaron Jay, YARA, and Daezy. Alongside his studio work, Will is an active Musical Director and touring musician. He currently works as MD for Lewis Love, Hassall, Jaron Jay, and Sophie Kelly. He has performed on most major Australian stages including Margaret Court Arena, Hordern Pavilion, Riverstage, Enmore Theatre, and The Forum, and has supported artists including Zac Brown Band, Lawrence, The Temper Trap, Killing Heidi, and Kita Alexander.Currently, Will is based out of Kakadu Studios in Brunswick when not on the road with his MD and session work. His focus as both a live performer and producer is on building a body of work that reflects his varied skill set, fosters creative trust with those around him, and continues to chase a sound that feels distinctly his own.
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Will Conway Instagram⁠
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Stu's work on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Enquiries and suggestions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Stu Watts chats with Fletcher Matthews, who is based in Sydney, Australia. His journey through the industry has seen him amass an array of achievements — from charting successes, to commercial and sporting syncs, to critical acclaim. With over 60 million streams across songs he’s produced and written, Fletcher's musical prowess shines brightly, elevating artist projects to new heights. Whether it's crafting anthemic tracks or weaving intricate sonic tapestries, his fingerprints can be found on a myriad of successful singles and albums for Australian artists.​
Among his notable achievements, Fletcher's collaboration with STUMPS on the single 'Mt. Pleasant' soundtracked Australia’s exclusive broadcast of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics opening ceremony. It went on to theme the channel’s coverage of the Paralympics for the event’s remaining weeks. Additionally, his work on The Buoys track 'I Want You' served as the electrifying anthem for Fox Sports' largest NRLW season campaign to date.​From triple j's Hottest 100 countdowns to the ARIA album charts, Fletcher's contributions have consistently resonated with audiences and critics alike. Whether it's co-writing Adam Newling's early success ‘Singing Blackbird’, or producing Trophy Eyes’ fourth studio album ‘Suicide & Sunshine’, which peaked at #8 in ARIA’s official album charts, Fletcher has an incredible ability to capture the essence of an artist's vision whilst keeping an audience in mind.​In a field where accolades are often reserved for industry veterans, Fletcher Matthews stands as a beacon of fresh talent, ready to carve out his own path in the ever-evolving landscape of songwriting and music production.​.
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Fletcher Matthews Instagram
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Fletcher Matthews Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Fletcher's work on Spotify⁠⁠
Enquiries and suggestions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Stu Watts chats with Jack Prest, who is a leading audio engineer and producer in Australia’s independent and alternative music scene, specialising in forward-thinking electronic, jazz, and experimental music. His credits include prominent Australian and international artists such as Sampa The Great, Godtet, Jonti, Tasman Keith, Omar Musa, Urthboy, Kelly Lee Owens, and labels like Stones Throw, Kitsune, and Future Classic. Jack’s approach is rooted in collaboration, ensuring the finished product reflects the artist’s unique vision.Jack cut his teeth as an in-house engineer at Studios 301, Australia’s oldest and most prestigious studio, where he’s worked with global icons like Skrillex, Flume, Brockhampton, ASAP Rocky, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen. Jack operates out of Golden Retriever in Marrickville, Sydney.
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⁠⁠⁠What's That Sound?⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠Stu Watts⁠⁠⁠⁠
Jack Prest⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠Stu Watts website⁠⁠
Jack Prest website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Enquiries and suggestions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode is a discussion on how AI is impacting the music industry, hosted by Stu Watts and features guests Joe Carra (Grammy nominated mastering engineer) and Simon Moro (producer/engineer/mixer).
Joe Carra is the chief mastering engineer and owner of Crystal Mastering. With over 3 decades of experience, Joe has mastered for cassette, vinyl, CD, and in recent times, embraced the immersive audio of Dolby Atmos. In 2020 Joe received a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, for the Teskey Brothers ‘Run Home Slow’ album. Joe has mastered various ARIA award winning albums and in 2023, was recognised with a nomination in the MPEG Awards for 'Mastering Engineer of the Year’. Joe’s credits include Pond, The Slingers, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Courtney Barnett, Amyl & The Sniffers, Genesis Owusu, The Murlocs, San Cisco, Babe Rainbow, Bliss N Eso, The Waifs and many more.
Simon Moro is a music producer, sound engineer, mixer and co-owner of The Avenue Recording Studio and has over 25 years of experience. His unique ability to empathetically connect with an artist and understand their vision was born out of training under Michael Brauer (Coldplay, The Kooks, Grizzly Bear) which taught him that capturing the essence of the artist is paramount to creating the best mix. Having worked with labels such as Sony and Mushroom, artists such as Anthony Callea and Allday, mixed and produced ARIA nominated albums, live albums, and television shows, he knows that no project is too bold and ambitious, and no detail is too minute to matter.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:25 Joe's Client's AI-Generated Album
07:10 The Evolution of AI Music Generation
12:59 AI's Role in Music Production
20:43 Why Human Mastering Still Thrives Against AI
33:35 The Risk of Homogenised Music vs. Authentic Human Art
40:53 The Fight for Fair Credits and Royalties in AI Music
49:04 Using AI Tools Without Losing Creative Human Skills
01:01:15 Final Thoughts: AI, Copyright, and the Value of Human Effort
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⁠⁠What's That Sound?⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠Stu Watts⁠⁠⁠
Joe Carra
Simon Moro
⁠⁠⁠Stu Watts website⁠
Crystal Mastering website
Simon Moro website
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Stu's work on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Joe's work on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Enquiries and suggestions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Stu Watts chats with Mickey Nox (aka Stephan Nardella) who burst on to the Melbourne club scene in 2007 and soon had a reputation for playing the harder styles of dance music. This soon led to starting his own productions as a producer, and eventually full DJ sets of only original music in a time where if you wanted to hear the music, you’d simply have to go and watch him play. By doing this Mickey Nox amassed quite the following. This continued with years of DJ'ing several weekly residencies, headlining around Australia and then touring Europe & Asia multiple times.2019 was the start of his studio career as an engineer. 6 Years later his studio is growing from strength to strength and Mickey is mixing and mastering for many artist and labels around the globe.A real music lover, husband, father and hopeless guitarist. Mickey Nox is just getting started in his studio career.
How you can support the podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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⁠⁠What's That Sound?⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠Stu Watts⁠⁠⁠
Mickey Nox
⁠⁠⁠Stu Watts website⁠
Mickey Nox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Stu's work on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Mickey's work on Spotify
Enquiries and suggestions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠